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What do you see as our most pressing environmental problems and what role can and should business play in addressing them?

required to respond to at least two of your group members answers in thoughtful, meaningful, and professional dialogue.

Person (1)

What do you see as our most pressing environmental problems and what role can and should business play in addressing them?

There are so many pressing environmental problems in the world today and I feel there is more focus on this topic than ever before because people care about the environment and what happens to it. Climate change, clean air, chemicals, toxins, mold, lead, waste cleanup, greener living, and list goes on and on and on. It is hard to pick one pressing environmental problem so I am going to select climate change since it is the topic that has been widely covered in the media. Climate change is a very controversial topic because some people do not believe in it. A perfect example is within my own family. Some family members do not think it is real and others think it is very real and the difference of opinion depends on the age of the person.

Some ways that businesses can play a role in addressing the issue of climate change is by controlling direct and indirect emissions. Greenhouse emissions are emissions that a company produces by the daily activities running within the facility and are considered direct emissions. They can also install test equipment that lets the business know the volume of the pollutants being emitted. This allows them to determine what changes can be implemented to help reduce the pollutant volume.

Indirect emissions are related to energy use by the organization and can be controlled by reducing energy use like reducing the buildings temperature when the employees are not in the building. Employers can also offer some type of benefit to employees if they agree to carpool, sue public transportation, or ride their bike to work if the employee lives close enough. This would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released through transportation methods on a daily basis.

Can companies be truly green, committed to sustainability, and economically viable?

I think that companies can implement many policies and procedures to implement and reinforce their plan to go green as well as committing to sustainability and being economically viable. Being 100% green is something that could be possible but the business has to really focus on setting up and managing this green environment. They also have to maintain many factors of going green as requirements change.

Communication is a key component to the success of implementing these plans. By communicating their plans to customers, suppliers, and making their statement of commitment public knowledge it helps the organization be accountable for their planned actions and helps spread the word that they are acting responsibly to help the environment. This process of communication also helps spread knowledge to other businesses of changes that can be made and can also help entice other organizations and people to do more to go green.

I feel that factory farming is definitely a problem because we do not know what the animals go through but we do know that these factory farms do whatever they have to so they can make a profit. These animals are not treated humanely and also release stress hormones through the process. There are organizations working to make changes but unfortunately the change is not occurring fast enough.

Person (2)

What do you see as our most pressing environmental problems, and what role can and should business play in addressing them?

One of our most pressing environmental issues in the United States right now is climate change. There is a lot of controversy about this topic, especially because the leader of our country does not believe in it. Climate change negatively affects us agriculturally, environmentally, and economically. Agriculture depends heavily on water supplies, and floods and droughts are disrupting the consistent water supply plants need to grow. Environmentally, there is a growth of oxygen poor ocean zones, there are glaciers melting, there is an increase in wild land fires, there are changes in migration patterns of birds and animals, and there are disturbances to food chains. Economically, there are predicted mass migrations as low lying countries become flooded. Businesses need to be aware of these changes and the risks of these changes continuing. They can be proactive and be as green as possible to reduce their carbon footprint.

Can companies be truly green, committed to sustainability, and economically viable?

I think it’s possible that companies can be truly green, but it’s expensive and companies are not willing to spend the money. The economy is too worried about how much of a profit is being made rather than the consequences of what is happening in order to make that profit. If all companies committed themselves to being environmentally friendly, the amount of pollution being put into the world would decrease drastically.